CEOP to take the lead on services for missing children

A team of experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) is to lead a national response to the issue of missing children, the government has announced.

From 1 July a dedicated team from the centre will be tasked with working with police, child protection bodies and non-governmental organisations to ensure suitable arrangements are in place to protect vulnerable children.

Making the announcement on International Missing Children’s Day, crime and security minister James Brokenshire said the group will also provide preventative support through products and training for children and professionals as well as operational support to local police forces.

“Around 230,000 missing children reports are made in the UK every year,” he said. “The risks children are exposed to are severe and the harm they suffer can be very serious so it is crucial we can act quickly. Ceop’s new responsibility for national missing children’s services means they can bring their significant child protection expertise to tackle this important issue.”

Ceop will provide support to the police through resources such as the Child Rescue Alert system and the MissingKids website. It will also aim to ensure arrangements are in place to co-ordinate the collective response to complex cases of missing and abducted children.

Peter Davies, chief executive of Ceop, said: “Partnership will be our key theme. We will look to learn, analyse and contribute our expertise to the wider policing community; we will work with children and parents to raise awareness of the risks and the options and we will put into the hands of any investigation our collective specialism to reach rapid and effective conclusions.

“We will also work to ensure the causes of children going missing are understood and addressed after their return.”

Martin Houghton-Brown, chief executive of charity Missing People, said Ceop’s new role will help ensure the safety of thousands of children.

“We are delighted that Ceop will be joining the frontline of services to help find and protect missing children,” he said “Their expertise in safeguarding vulnerable children and extensive work in education will help to ensure the safety of thousands of young people.”